


Negotiations

by kyanve



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-07
Updated: 2013-02-07
Packaged: 2017-11-28 12:24:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/674369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyanve/pseuds/kyanve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First person PoV Giotto, short/scenefic - the pointier sort of "negotiations" that went on around their day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Negotiations

“Those are some stern accusations, little one.” The old aristocrat’s laughing, still acting like it’s some kind of childish joke; he’s at his desk with his hands folded, at ease. And why shouldn’t he be? He’s got two armed guards behind him, two more armed guards standing just inside the door; they’re all ‘loyal’ men, and none of them are normal guards – loaned men from the Mafioso he’s been paying to help him gain power. There’s only one chair in front of the desk, and Lampo’s slouched in it, looking his usual lazy, small, and unimpressive self; as far as he knows, the boy’s calling him out alone, and even arranged that nobody would know about this meeting.

As far as he knows.

The overconfidence can be forgiven since he can’t see me standing behind Lampo’s chair, hands on the back where the boy could probably feel my cape brushing on his hair if he leaned back; he can see us, the duke can’t. It’s probably a good thing Lampo’s facing the duke, Spade’s happily waving a hand in front of the face of one of the guards by the door, taunting someone that can’t even see him; it wouldn’t help the ruse if Lampo started trying not to laugh at “nothing”. Alaude’s in his view, but the agent is standing statue-still next to the Duke’s chair.

“Do you have anything to back any of this up with?”

“Mmmn. Not really; I mean, your books are doctored, and it’s a lot of work to try to get the Polizia or some other people on the boats to check your cargo without you expecting it, you’ve done a damn good job of paying off the officials so they wouldn’t check… I’VE got some of your cargo and can prove what you’re smuggling, buuut if I brought it before the magistrate right now, you’d probably just claim I’d fabricated it. I don’t really want to go to all the work to get around that, so I thought I’d come in and see if you’d change your mind about this if I asked nicely.” 

The Duke starts laughing at that. “Even if this ‘cargo’ of yours was real, do you really think just waltzing in here and telling me off would accomplish anything? You as much as said that there’s nothing for the authorities to go on to pursue me.” I raise a hand, and Spade nods, before the conversation can go any further. 

“Nothing for the legal authorities to go on, no.” I have the Dying Will flames visible as the illusion masking me disappears, hands on either side of the chair behind Lampo, leaning forward; the guards start to move to aim at me – and then the plush curtains behind the duke lash out entangling them, while inky black tendrils come up from the floor to entwine and hold the two behind me. The Duke panics, getting up – likely to raise some kind of alarm; before he can move from there, Alaude’s visible with a knife at his throat, and judging by the fact that he goes a little paler a few beats after he’s realized THAT, I can only assume Spade’s made himself visible as well behind me, with his usual dramatics. “However, I think I’ve seen plenty, and I think your associates don’t need you supplying them with weapons anymore. We’ll be taking them down either way, but it’d certainly be easier on us if you stopped the shipments, and easier on you if we didn’t have to … oh … target you in the process, yes?” 

“I- I can’t just-“

Judging by the way he just stiffened, Alaude just tightened his grip on the back of the man’s collar, and I saw the blade shift just slightly; knowing how sharp he keeps those, I certainly wouldn’t want to be the duke. 

“The shipments are stopping, one way or another, and you were so kind as to respect avoiding anyone seeing our young friend coming to see you …” Adders creep out of the curtains to coil on the shoulders of the guards behind him, and there’s hissing behind me as well, and a whimper from one of the guards.

“I’ll stop! I’ll stop!”

“Really. And why should we believe that you’ll hold to your word?”

“I’ll stop, I swear it!” I shift, leaning an elbow on the chair and propping my chin in one hand; my right hand with the ring is raised in a preparatory signal. 

“In the name of God and my mother’s grave I swear I’ll stop the shipments! No more, please!”

I lower my hand slowly; Alaude and Spade haven’t backed off yet.

“I hope for your sake that you’re a man of your word, Signor; next time we don’t have to come in with an invitation and announcement, and your guard on your bedchamber is a touch on the light side.” I smile; Lampo stands up from the chair, straightening his shirt, and starts walking casually to the door. “I’ll see you at the ball tomorrow night.” I stand back straight with a very loose bow. 

I give a gesture to Spade just as Lampo’s reaching him, and Alaude lets go of the Duke, stepping back; in the next instant, the curtains are back to normal, the black tendrils from the floor are gone, as are the snakes, and Alaude, Spade and I are back to being invisible. 

There’s a moment of blinking as Lampo pauses in the door, glancing at the guards – who seem to be trying to figure out if they should be stopping him or not; a loud hiss sounds from the floor, and they snap back to standing at attention, out of the way. The doors, of course, are open long enough for all of us to leave, before they swing shut seemingly on their own.


End file.
